The FAO moderated e-mail conference entitled "Strengthening partnerships in agricultural biotechnologies for the benefit of smallholders in developing countries: Discussing North-South, South-South, Public-Private cooperation and more" took place from 14 November to 18 December 2011. Major topics discussed included Public-Private partnerships, South-South cooperation and the importance and modalities of involving smallholder farmers in partnerships. Of the different food and agricultural sectors, most focus was on crops, followed by livestock. About 340 people subscribed to the conference and 76 messages were posted by 48 people living in 25 different countries. Nearly two thirds of messages came from people living in developing countries. See the messages posted, as well as the 13-page Background Document to the conference, at http://www.fao.org/biotech/biotech-forum/en/ or contact biotech-admin@fao.org for more information.